Millefiori dish by DINO MARTENS for AURELIANO TOSO, Tutti-Frutti glass in Murano, 1950s

Large pocket tray (31cm) tutti-frutti / millefiori multicolored and gilded made by dino martens for fratelli toso in murano (italy, venice) in the 1950s. In perfect condition. Dino martens (1894-1970) was an italian painter and designer particularly noted for his glass work, trained at the accademia di belle arti. He exhibited at the venice biennale from 1924 to 1930) and later became the artistic director of the "vetreria fratelli toso" (famous venetian glassworks). He will produce many remarkable works, using traditional venetian techniques but producing original effects, "audacious" asymmetrical forms, the drawings being often marked by their obvious difficulty of execution. Founder of the company "vetreria fratelli toso", aureliano toso comes from a family of glassmakers who have been living in murano for a long time. From the beginning, he collaborated with the italian painter and designer dino martens, so that in 1942, the company's first series of design objects was presented at the XXIII venice biennale. These had bands of opposite colors. Spiral-shaped thick-walled glasses with inclusions of different colors were also created. In the early 1950s, martens created the series of glasses 'eldorado' in transparent ground glass and 'oriente' in opaque ground glass, with bold shapes that foreshadow the future pop art. Some objects feature moray eels composed of multicolored glass rods. However, until martens' departure in 1960, series of simpler objects were created, such as the puligoso series, decorated with colored spots. Later, designers such as gino poli and enrico potz worked in the manufactory, which was later passed on to the founder's son, gianfranco toso. Since 1968, the glassworks has been producing lamps under the impetus of poli and on the basis of its experience within the company venini & co.